It has to be said that the North Korean leadership is clinically insane, and the fact that they have one of the largest armies in the world is somewhat disquieting.
Fortunately, it is also one of the hungriest armies in the world, and the troops all have families who are starving to death.
In the event of war, the initial outburst may, in fact, be followed by mass surrenders, if only for the food.
Still, it would be an extremely ugly - and intensely violent - event.
The workers have no choice in the matter, of course
Expect the 479 S Korean managers to be “expelled” tomorrow. The 4 Chinese managers will stay on with maintenance crews for the annual spring cleanup.
The 53,000 NK workers and their 100,000 family members will be quite busy doing spring planting.
The SK workers posed a major security risk for the NK Second Army Corps.
Sat photos show that all four army corps reserves mobilized for combat exercises over the past few months have turned in their weapons to their local Ministry of People’s Safety on 1, April and went back to work gathering fertilizer for spring planting.
Worker and Peasant Red Guards have to grow their own food. Sat photos show they did not carry weapons and backpacks in the fields or in the streets after 1, April as they are required when mobilized about 1, February. Now they are all carrying shovels and hoes.
When mobilized, the Guards relocate to caves and tunnels in the mountains, and now they have gone back to garrison.
Remember, the DPRK are absolute experts at incitement and propaganda. The S Koreans often deliver translations of NK statements that are not accurate.
NK statements always have a backdoor way out that lets them walk backward from hardline statements. That rarely comes through the SK translations.
Posters about self defense have been replaced with posters about the economy.